A Simple Nightmare
by MeekshVA
Summary: Sequal to A secret past - Vienna's new life has changed. With her new family name and her deadly best friend, she has a target on her back and not just the living are shooting at it. With darkness consuming her, will she be able to find her way back before its too late? the path she now walks has put her in more danger then ever.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

We had been walking around this town for what seemed like years. Max and I had arrived in Spokane a few days ago, searching for the Strigoi I knew were here somewhere, we just hadn't found any sign of them yet. Or I should rephrase that to 'I' hadn't found them yet. Max is hardly interested in this whole trip, the only reason he is here is because he's curious as to what I'm up too. And he has no choice.

About 4 months ago I started having visions. Like real visions. Except most of them were from the past. I saw my family from centuries ago, and what caused them to be driven out of our world. I am a Nesahla, previously a Markson, and I'm a Moroi Vampire, living with elemental magic. Which isn't entirely true but I'll explain that soon. We need blood to survive, we just don't kill to be satisfied with our feed. Although this is exactly what strigoi do, they kill when they feed which is how they can be turned. The other species in my world is a Dhampir, our guardians. They are born half human half Moroi, with traits from both races.  
They don't need blood to survive and have our best traits of vampire hearing, sound and what not, as well as having human stamina. We have twelve royal families, thirteen including the Nesahlas, but we aren't really recognised considering this family line was meant to have been eradicated centuries ago. It's all a complicated world. But I guess I don't really belong there anymore.

Nesahlas were hunted down and killed because we are special. We have special powers and abilities others don't, the specific word used: Witch. We can perform spells and the like, this is what tore our family line apart. We are a dead name, rising from the ashes. Anyone who is found wearing my last name is hunted down and killed.

"This is pointless" Max sits back in the chair opposite my bed. When we arrived, we figured we needed somewhere to set up base camp. So I somehow conjured up enough money for a hotel room, it's not the fanciest of places but its secure and its somewhere to sleep.

"Everything is pointless with you Max. How about you sit quietly in your little corner and let me work" I narrow my eyes at him and he leans back in his chair more. One upside to turning Max Strigoi is that I control him. I don't know how it works or why it happened it just did, so he doesn't test my patience that much and it's why he doesn't have a choice but to stay with me.

"I'm just saying, you've been at this for days, we tried walking around town, we tried your little, witchy joojoo," he waves his hand in my direction, "Or whatever you want to call it, and nothing. It's useless."

"Yeah, well, we can't always resolve to violence can we now Max." I sit upright again and prepare myself for my magic.  
I close my eyes and take a deep breath and concentrate on the connection with strigoi blood. I took some of Max's blood and its now sitting in a bowl that I'm holding.

I feel rushes of hot and cold and something flaming through my veins. I summon abit more and I feel it rush towards my hands and flow around the bowl, searching for some clue as to where someone with this blood might reside. I hold the magic for a few more minutes but nothing happens. I let go of the magic and sit the bowl on the bedside table.  
I stand up and pace around the room, my temper flaring. Picking up a nearby vase I fling it at the wall across from me and it smashes on impact. Flowers and water spray the wall before falling to the floor.  
"And you thought I was the violent one" Max says with a smirk. I whip around to a stand in front of him. With a quick movement of my hand, Max starts gasping for air. I've mastered stuff like this. Taking his air away from him, leaving him gasping. I hold it for a few seconds and then let him breathe again. I lean in close to his face.

"I don't have time for your snide little comments. Do it again and you might not ever breathe again, got it?" I raise my eyebrows at him. For a fleeting second I think I see a little fear in his eyes but then his face changes into his usual compliant one and his jaw tightens.

"Of course Vienna" he breathes out and he slightly narrows his eyes. I stand back up and sit back on my bed. This is all so frustrating. I'm not getting anywhere and I need my book back. I replay the last few weeks in my head and mostly images of Danahi flow through. I wish he was here to help me. He was the only one who ever helped me, and he's my family. But I can't exactly reach out to him now, considering he is dead. Along with his death, I expect my family to be with him. I doubt they would have let any of them survive, not if they knew my true father is a Nesahla.

I come back to the real world, I examine my surroundings. It's a small room, the bathroom to the right of me, tucked in a little room and the door opposite it. The bed resides in the centre of the room with a small TV on the stand in front of me and the chair Max sits in, is next to it. The walls are a light brown with a few paintings on a wall here and there. It's not much but it's what we could get on short notice with not a lot of money.

I sigh again and watch the TV without really watching it. I need to come up with another plan. I'm playing through different scenarios when Max interrupts.

"Have you thought of...?"

"Yes Max, I have." I say automatically because I probably have. He hasn't been of much use, but I need him later for brute force. I hear him sigh.

"Have you thought of walking around town, and doing the spell at the same time." He says evenly. I sit up. Actually I hadn't thought of that. It's a simple plan. I don't know why I hadn't thought of it, my minds been kind of all over place.

"I've got nothing to connect too, I connect to your blood, and I can't exactly walk around town with a bowl of blood can me?" I snap at him. He stares back at me for a moment, weighing something in his head.

"What if you're holding my hand? It's not direct contact to my blood but it's better than nothing, and you've felt a connection without my blood before, so why wouldn't it work this time?" he asks. I run his questions through my head a million times. I don't see why it wouldn't work. I mean it's some sort of connection, it might be weaker than actually having his blood but I have to try something. The problem will be actually having a connection with the magic, it's hard to concentrate while walking or doing something else. I suppose if we stop in different spots and I try to make a connection it might work. I look back at him.

"Well it turns out you're not as useless as I thought. Let's go." I get up and grab my backpack from beside the bed. Max stands with me and escorts me out the door. Luckily it's the middle of the human night and the shops are closed, though people still walk around, going to restaurants, night clubs and the like. Max keeps his face down so people can't see his face. The last thing we need is someone staring at him and wondering why he is so pale and has red eyes.

The shopping centre itself is closed so we just walk around the building until we find a spot with not many people then I turn to him. I let out a deep breath and grab both of his hands. His hands are cold and it startles me for a second. I regain my focus and begin to summon my magic. A few minutes pass and nothing happens but then Max gives my hands a reassuring squeeze and I continue. That was weird. Why would Max care if I succeed?

A few more moments pass and then I feel something different. Some sort of direction I think, like I'm being drawn the certain spot. Trying as hard as I can to keep my magic going, I slowly open my eyes, and I see Max staring intently at me, a frown on his face.

"What's going on? Did it work?" he asks, with a slight tinge of sincere concern and curiosity. I try to keep my magic flowing, explaining it to him at the same time.

"I don't know," I begin, my head is starting to hurt, "I feel something different, like I'm being directed somewhere and I don't want to stop my magic in case I lose the connection." I tell him, gritting my teeth, now I have a splitting headache. Maybe doing magic and something else at the same time isn't such a good idea. "Just start walking, don't let go of me" I say and I squeeze my eyes shut in hopes of some relief but it doesn't change.

"Is it ok to let go of one of my hands?" he asks quietly and I pause for a moment, analysing my magic.

"I think so" I answer. He lets go of one of my hands slowly and my connection fades a little so I try to regain it back. Within a few seconds its back to full force, though my head is clearly taking the toll on this one.

I start walking directly forward, feeling some sort of pull towards another side of the building. As we walk my breathing gets harsher and spots start dancing in my vision. I don't think this will last long. "We have to walk faster, I can't hold this much longer." Max squeezes my hand again and I feel a small rush of energy go through me.

We walk a little faster, going around a few corners, dipping into dark spots here and there. Suddenly we stop in front of a door. The door is located on the side of what appears to be the shopping centre. Its dark and not well lit outside, it looks more like an emergency exit.

Max looks to me unsure but I just nod, I can still feel it, the urge to go in. The door turns out to be unlocked and we both head in. In front of us is a small stairwell, there are steps leading both up and down. I feel the pull to go down so I begin walking down the stairs.

Every step resonates in my head. We go down two flights and we open another door, ending up in a dark tunnel. Or at least I think it's a tunnel.  
My head almost explodes and it a moment of weakness, I lose my connection. I have a splitting headache, I think I'm going to pass out and we are in some dark tunnel. Fabulous.

"Hey, you alright, what happened? Why did you drop the connection?" Max lets me go and leans down in front of me.

"How did you know I lost the connection?" I ask. I didn't tell him. For a moment he looks lost.

"Oh, Um, you nearly fell and I know you wouldn't be able to hold it for much longer. You did good though, that was a lot of magic." He says, his voice wavering a little, he suddenly looks tired. I frown at him, not sure if I completely believe him.

"Ok then. Well we found something, I just don't know what to do now" Max stands up and looks around. With his Strigoi sight, he might see a bit more than I can.

"It just seems like an empty tunnel, I can't see the end or where it starts." He says, intently staring down both sides the tunnel. He's staring down the tunnel to the left of me when he suddenly straightens up.

"Vienna get up." He says sternly, and honestly, it scares me a little. I hesitate for a moment. "Vienna, get up. Someone is in here." His voice bring me to my feet instantly. When I do, my vision sways and fades a little but i regain it after a few moments. I stand beside Max but then he moves in front of me in a protective manner. I can't hear anything. Seconds later I hear quiet footsteps approaching us. Before I can say anything Max speaks in a cold voice.

"Who are you? Why are you down here?" He says. A reply comes shortly after.

"I heard there was a new Strigoi and Moroi around town. I'm Isaiah."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2.**

Eventually Isaiah's full form comes into view. Pale face, red eyes, he is tall and skinny so I'm guessing he was a Moroi before he was turned. Thin black hair sat just above his shoulders, he was wearing a cold expression, typical for strigoi, and ironically, a scarlet red shirt. He approaches us and his eyes twist in amusement.

"That's far enough" Max says sternly. How much more protective can he get? Though I'm grateful, I'm not in any condition to stand up for myself. I'm surprised I haven't passed out yet.  
Isaiah's eyes twist again, his gaze moves beyond Max and his eyes meet mine. A cold shiver spreads through me.

"I'm sure the girl can speak for herself, can she not?" He says glancing directly at me with a sardonic smile. This guy is old, I realise. I can feel it. And I'm not talking like 50 – 60 years old, like centuries old. I straighten up slightly and come to a stand next to Max.

"Don't move any further." I tell him, my face hard. Isaiah surveys me, looking at me top to bottom.  
"And what exactly is a teenage Moroi doing prancing around with a newly turned Strigoi? You two certainly make an odd couple don't you think?" He asks. I feel Max tense beside me.  
"We're not here to talk about odd couples or whatever else. You're going to help us with something." I tell him. Surprise flits across his face but it's gone almost as fast as it appeared.

"Now why would I do that? I'm much older then you and your strigoi put together, you're no match for me." He says threateningly. Max tenses abit more, I can't see his face but I can tell he is getting just as frustrated as me. We need to end this fast before I pass out.

"I have a feeling you're not going to have much of a choice." I whisper. Isaiah looks amused again, clearly thinking this is a joke.

"Oh I very much have a choice. I'm getting very hungry, stop wasting my time or I will kill you both." Isaiah smiles slightly, exposing his fangs and though I'm used to Max's, it startles me. Max moves in front of me again.

"Lay a hand on her and you'll regret it. You're not only one who can rip off heads here." Max answers. In a split second Isaiah moves and so does Max, both clearly analysing each other as the threat. Well Isaiah is the threat. He clearly thinks Max and I are lunch. Before any damage is done I summon all the magic I can manage. Time to see if my control is limited to just Max.  
Once I have all the magic I can, I move my hand and whisper a few words in my head for extra support, all at once both Max and Isaiah freeze. They sway in their spots a little and Max registers what happening and doesn't fight me. Isaiah on the other hand is completely dumbfounded. He looks at me and his eyes widen.

"Witch" He hisses, showing his fangs.

"You won't fight me, or I will make sure you don't live to see another day." I say with gritted teeth. I'm going to have one hell of a headache in the morning. I look at both the Strigoi standing before me, Max is looking tired again and Isaiah is just starting to fatigue.

I hadn't even registered what he just said, he knows what I am. I stare down Isaiah again and I let some of my magic go, releasing Max but still holding Isaiah. I move my wrist again and Isaiah doubles over screaming. He clutches at his chest, trying to pry away the pain I'm sending through to him.

After a few moments of his screaming I drop the magic.  
"Try attacking us again, and I won't have to use magic to make you feel like a stake is in your chest, because I'll put one in you myself." I tell him. He recovers quickly and takes a precautionary step back.

"Well, well," He starts, "It's been a long time since I've been around a witch. What's your name?" He asks. I survey his question and his face, looking for some sign that he only wants my name so he can joke, but I can't find any.

"Vienna." I tell him.

"Vienna Nesahla. What a pleasure to meet you. Never thought I'd see another descendant of that family again. But here you are."

"You know my family?"

"Of course I do. I was around when the last of your family was killed. Well supposedly." So he is old. "You have your own pet Strigoi, why do you need me?"

"My family has a book, I trust you've heard of it," he nods, "The guardians took it from me and I want it back. You're going to help me."

"And how can I be of service?" he says, amusement etched over his face again.

"You're going to help me send a message."

"You ok?" Max and I are on our way back to the hotel. After another hour or so of talking with Isaiah, we came up with a plan to meet tomorrow night. Right now, I need to rest.

"Yeah I'm fine, just a bit tired." I tell him. I'm a little bit more than tired. My legs feel weak and shaky, my head is pounding and I feel like I'm going to vomit. Of course I'm not going to tell Max that, lest he decide to take advantage of it and run. Without warning Max turns and picks me up, one arm under my legs and the other around my back.  
"What was that for?" I ask him, though I'm not really complaining.

"You're not ok." He says and then doesn't talk again. We keep walking down the street, still a few blocks away from the hotel. I rest my head on Max's shoulder and my mind drifts into a restful slumber.

I hear a small bang and my eyes flutter open, Max is still carrying me but were in our hotel room again. Without talking he places me on the bed, pulls a blanket over me and silently sits in his chair. Before I can form a coherent thought, my eyes fall again.

Quiet talking invades my mind and wakes me from my dream. I open my eyes slowly and the TV is on, that's what I can hear. I look over the Max's chair, and it's empty. I jolt up and look around the room, he isn't here. Before I can summon my magic the door opens and Max walks in with a cup. The sweet smell of coffee.

"Relax, I thought you would wake up soon, I just went to get some coffee. No other agenda, promise." He says with a small smirk. He hands me the cup, it warms my hand and I take a sip.

"What time is it?" I ask.

"4pm. We're not meeting Isaiah until 7 but I didn't want to wake you. You were exhausted last night."

"Yeah well I did put up a lot of magic" I say. I rub my eyes and realise my head isn't hurting anymore, I guess some sleep really did help. I stand and quietly walk to the bathroom with my backpack. Along with having money for the hotel room, I managed to buy some new clothes considering I didn't take any with me from St Vladimir's. I change into tight black jeans, black canvas shoes and a plain grey t shirt. I tie my black hair into a high pony tail and examine my face. I still look a little tired and I have bags under my eyes. Compared the rest of me, my blue green eyes stare back at me brightly.

By the time Max and I go over the plan again it's almost 7 and its dark enough for Max and I to head out under the cover of night. Isaiah told us to meet at the tunnels because it was the safest and the darkest place for us to be. Suddenly I miss daytime. The light. I've been travelling in the darkness with a Strigoi for so long now that I just miss, I guess living, company.  
I miss being around someone with warmth. I drown in my own sympathy the whole walk to the shopping centre. Max doesn't talk either, I see the solemn look on his face. I thought strigoi didn't have feelings? I mean aside from pain.

When we reach the emergency door, we find it unlocked, just like last time. I nod to Max and we head down two flights of stairs, ending up in the same spot as last night.  
Isaiah is already here, leaning against the far wall and examining the wall across from him.  
I look to the wall to see what he is staring at. There is writing everywhere.  
The letters D, B, C, O, T, D, V, L, D, Z, S and I trail down the wall.

"What the hell is this?" I ask. Before he can say anything, I notice another figure slowly walking down the tunnel toward Isaiah. The closer this figure gets, the clearer they are for me to see. A female figure appears and she is carrying something with her.  
Actually, dragging is the more appropriate word. I reiterate my first question and the female walks closer. She's dragging a person with her. A human specifically. Her red eyes shine as she surveys Max and I, then she comes to a complete stand in front of us. The man she carries with her lets out a groan.

"Will this do?" She asks Isaiah.

"Hey, wait, what are you doing? Who is this?" I yell again at Isaiah.

"Well, I thought I, we, could use a bit of extra force. So I got myself a, for want of a better word, servant. This is Elena." Elena's head swivels toward us and she doesn't say anything but turns back to Isaiah. "This will do just fine dear, thank you. I trust you've fed?"  
She nods at his question, she's clearly a freshly turned Strigoi. Isaiah picks up the man Elena is holding and pulls him forward.  
"Hm, yes you'll do just fine. What's your name?" he stares at the man, I suspect he's compelling him.

"K-Kyh" The man stutters.

"Well, I'm sorry Kyh, but I'm hungry." With ending that statement he bites into the human's neck and feeds. Not wanting to look weak, I don't turn away but wear a look of disgust.

"Do you want some?" Isaiah stops feeding and turns to Max with a smirk on his face.  
"Every Strigoi needs a bit of a top up" he says.

"No." Max answers coldly. He had eaten before we came here. Isaiah turns back to Kyh and continues feeding. Once he has had his fill he turns back to me and wipes his mouth with a handkerchief in this pocket. I once again notice he is wearing a scarlet shirt. Does he have a lot of those purposefully?

"So," Isaiah starts. "My contacts were quick in getting me some answers. The best place for us to start would be at a house on the Montana Mountains. Its hours from here but it's a good place to start sending a message."

"Why is it the best place to start?" I ask him.

"Well, one of the … well actually, the best, guardian resides there. If we kill him, well, let's just say even I would be surprised if we could manage that." He says with a little disdain.

"And which family does he guard?" we have to make the biggest impact.

"The Badicas."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3.**

As a part of Isaiah's plans, we were all locked up in a black van, the windows completely blocked out for Strigoi comfort and we couldn't see the driver either as a screen dividing the drivers and rear compartment had been placed up.

After confirming these details and more while in the tunnels, Isaiah, Elena, Max and I had crept out to where the vans were waiting. It turns out Isaiah had many Strigoi contacts, as well as human ones. I didn't understand why he would need humans in his workforce until he mentioned the need for drivers, as half of our drive would be through daylight hours and humans could also take the wards down, if this family had set up any.

We had been traveling for the last 4 hours, which meant we had at least 6 to go. Sitting in a van with 3 hungry Strigoi really unnerved me. Max had his eyes focused between Elena and Isaiah, surveying them both constantly. I want to sleep but resisted, not knowing what will happen if I let my guard down. I haven't eaten all day and nausea surrounds me as the van continues to move.

"So Vienna," Isaiah starts, I stare confused, then I remember I did give him my name.  
"How did you come across your past?" His stare bores deep into me.

"Are you serious? Where on our way to murder people and all you can ask is how I came across my past?" I ask incredulously.

"Call it a pastime of mine" he says with a smirk. "So did you have help? Or did you get the visions?" he asks, his face completely straight.

"How do you know about the visions?"

"I was around members of your family long ago, I know a lot, I helped them."

"Were you turned by one of them? Like I did to Max?"

"No, I wasn't. I merely took interest in your family." He says with amusement dancing in his eyes. "So tell me, how did you come across your powers?" he folds his hands in his lap. Beside him Elena looks slightly interested, but she probably knows nothing.

"The visions. I didn't understand them at first but then I had help. A friend, a family member turned up and helped me through it. He taught me a lot." I recall Danahis square face, his slightly unruly black hair and bright blue eyes. He really was my family. I feel burning behind my eyes and try to push my tears back. I'm not going to cry here.  
"Then he was killed. So I guess I'm on my own now." I tell him evenly.

"What of your parents, don't they know?"

Knowing how upset I felt over Danahi, there was no way I would be able to talk about my parents without crying outright, so I stay silent. Isaiah holds my gaze for a moment longer and then turns to make conversation with Elena. I don't pay attention to what they say.

It's about an hour later when I hear small whispers coming from beside me.

"What?" I turn and ask Max.

"I didn't say anything." He says to me, his eyebrows knitted together. Another whisper comes again, this time closer to me, like its sitting right on top of me. I look at Max again, he's still watching me and he shakes his head as if to reiterate it wasn't him. I glance around the van. Elena and Isaiah are quiet, both staring at the floor, no one else is talking, I can't hear the drivers talking either.

I sigh and try to sink back further in my seat. Another whisper comes again but it's different this time, like it's in my head instead of in the car. I don't know what it is. Is this a vision?  
I haven't had one in weeks, not since I opened the book of shadows. More whispers come, but this time it doesn't fade out. Words I don't understand grate against my ears, harsh whispers come from all angles. I'm starting to get a headache. I cover my ears, hoping it will stop. Elena and Isaiah turn to stare at me in unison.

"What's going on?" Isaiah asks but I don't pay attention, there's something else here.  
Just in front of me, there's a figure. Dressed in old clothes which are burnt, singed and bare threaded in some places. I can still see Isaiah and Elena but I can't take my eyes away from the woman. What's happening to me?

She starts forward and comes to a stand in front of me. "You have to do it," she whispers harshly. Her face sags in exhaustion, like she has been fighting for a long time. Her head is bald in some places with long black hair flowing in others. The ends are singed and frizzy. She gives me a solemn look.

Beside me I hear more whispers but it's from Isaiah.

"Vienna, what's happening?" he asks, I slight note of urgency. Why would he care?

More whispers from the woman invade my head. "I burnt for this. You have to do it. You have to get it back." She says again and again. And I can't say anything I'm frozen, my body temporarily paralysed by the uninvited form. With another solemn look she stares intently at me, at my soul, and then fades and I'm back in the van.

Max is sagging over beside me and across from me Isaiah looks vaguely confused but at the same time aware of what just happened. I can't say anything but my breathing is laboured and I suddenly feel very, very tired.

"You were hallucinating" Max says to me. How does he know?

"How do you know?" I ask him, but before he can reply Isaiah interrupts.

"I've seen this before. When I was around a woman named Louella a few centuries ago. Before she died she started hallucinating, saying weird things and having nightmares. The magic she was using was taking a toll on her" he says without a hint of amusement.

"Louella? As in the last Louella who burned or was staked or whatever by the royal guard?" I ask. Out of all the people, I wouldn't expect Isaiah to be the one to know all this. Or to be the most useful. I'm surprised he isn't more snarky considering he's Strigoi.

"The one and only," he nods. "She was staked along with her husband and then left to burn in her house." Isaiah says, recalling past memories. That's probably why her clothes and hair were burnt.

"She told me to get it back, that I have to do it, did she ever say what she hallucinated?"  
I'm still reeling from the fact that I'm hallucinating a dead ancestor who passed down a witch bloodline with some crazy magic…

"No, she never told me what her hallucinations were of, but they got worse over time, about a year before she was killed I lost all contact with her."

"So how do you know she was staked and burned?" I asked with impatience.

"Because I was there. My contacts had heard someone was making a move against the Nesahlas so I went to her house and found her house already alight and the guardians walking out with bloody stakes. Being Strigoi I had no choice but to let her burn in that house. Believe me, if I could have saved her I would, she saved my life numerous times and I owe her for that. As payment for that, I'm helping you." He answers evenly. Well now it makes sense. Why he was so on board quickly and why he hasn't tried to eat me.

Max still hasn't said a word but now looks as tired as I feel. What's up with him? I thought Strigoi didn't get tired. The van goes quiet again and I drown in my own delirious thoughts. Am I going insane? Will someone find me and kill me? Will my message get out? Millions of questions fly through my head at insane speeds and it's hard to actually think.

Before I know it, there's a knock on the panel that separates us and the drivers. The panel is pulled down slightly, revealing the front window and complete darkness beyond it.

"We've arrived sir." One of the humans inform us.

Isaiah nods to us, the back door opens and we spill out. My feet crunch against the snow and though it's not much, my feet almost instantly go numb. I look beyond the cars, revealing a medium sized house, snow covers most of the area but pathways and driveways. We've parked away from the house, so as not to reveal our presence, but still close enough that I can see the residence. Pathways snake from the driveway and around the building.

"Wait, stop!" I suddenly yell. Everyone pauses and I take a moment before I reply, confirming what I'm feeling. "There are wards here." I say. Isaiah doesn't question me, trusting my instincts. He nods to one of humans and the guy pulls out a stake. Surprise momentarily blinds me and then I get my bearings. I suppose Isaiah would let someone bring a stake in case we needed to brake the wards.

"Can you sense where the wards are?" the human asks me. I nod and he beckons me forward. "I need you to tell me where they start so I can break them.  
We'll go around the back of the house, a stake in the ground is easier to hide than out the front." I almost stop in surprise again. He sounds like a guardian.

"Do it properly Mance, or you will be lunch." Isaiah warns, and the human with the stake freezes for a moment and then nods. We all head around to the back of the home. Lights flare up in some windows, indicating people are home. We try to make our way to the back as quietly as we can, but we still step on twigs and snow crunches under our feet. I wince every time we make a sound, we'll have more of an advantage if these people don't know we are here.

As I walk, I feel a strong surge of Moroi magic, I don't know how or why I sense it I just do.

"Stop" I whisper. Everyone comes to a halt. "The magic, it starts here, the wards start here so this is where it is strongest." I look to Mance who then nods and moves about a metre forward and then looks to me for confirmation. Isaiah turns to all of us. He points to a group of 6 Strigoi who arrived in similar vans.

"Three of you go to the front, enter through the main door. Three of you will go through a window on the side, and the rest of us will enter from the backdoor, the more entry points and surprise we have, the better." The 6 Strigoi nod and head to their positions, leaving Max and I, Isaiah and Elena and the humans just by the back door. "Once that ward is down, we need to get this done as fast as we can." He nods to all of us and the human bends down, the stake lifted high in his hands. He brings his arms down. Slamming the stake into the ground, if I couldn't feel the magic vanish, I wouldn't have known the wards are down, I nod to Isaiah who nods the three Strigoi on the side of the house and I assume they nod to those waiting at the front door.

All at once, we are surging towards the house. Isaiah's form slams into the glass door, leaving a place big enough for us to fit through, and then I hear more crashing sounds.  
One after the other, the front doors first then the window to the side of the house.  
I also hear screams.  
We make our way through the house and see two guardians engaged in the fight with Strigoi. What they didn't expect was how fast the Strigoi tore down the Moroi numbers.  
Children and adults were slaughtered in different rooms. Blood staining everywhere a body lay. Isaiah engages a guardian.

"Well hello there Guardian Schoenberg, it's nice to finally meet you," Isaiah hisses. Arthur Schoenberg stands before Isaiah in a defensive manner, ready to take on Isaiah.  
"Too bad our meeting will have to be cut short." Isaiah hisses again and they both engage in what seems like a long fight but it happens in just a matter of seconds. Arthur leaps toward Isaiah, stake poised, his attack is intercepted when Isaiah spins and hits his side.  
Quick to recover, the guardian lunges again, feinting toward one side and about ready to go for the other, but at the same time two Strigoi appear before Isaiah and attack the guardian. Both go for his legs and knocking him to the ground. Isaiah is quick to join the fray again, getting in some hard punches that I'm sure done more damage than it seems.  
Arthur's eyes roll back and forward, both in and out of consciousness. Before anything else is said, Isaiah straddles over him and bites into the guardian's neck.  
After a millisecond of complete surprise, Arthur's eyes go slack, basking in the glorious high of a Strigoi bite. He was blissfully unaware that the life was being drained out of him.  
Isaiah stops feeding and stands up, blood soaking his chin and nose.

"Sorry about that, I was abit peckish today." He says to the dead form and wipes his face with his handkerchief.

With all the commotion now over I look around the room. Two guardians in total, including Arthur Schoenberg, and almost a dozen Moroi lay strewn across the house, blood spilling everywhere. Isaiah disappears for a moment and returns with a bowl.

"What the hell do you need that for? A snack for later?" I scowl at him Isaiah just smirks at my comment.

"A message, my dear Vienna. Why not write it in blood. More of an impact." With that statement he winks at me and then disappears into a room that resembles a bathroom.

I turn to Max, he has a slightly feverish look crosses his face, but it vanishes when he looks at me.

"You're hungry, aren't you?" Max nods slowly. I suppose I can't deprive him of what will keep him alive. Though he won't be feeding on the any of the now dead Moroi.  
"So am I, we'll find a feeder." I tell him as we head out the front door, closing it in haste as we make our way to the car.

Isaiah joins us a few minutes later, as does the other Strigoi. The humans waited patiently in the car.

"We need to find a feeder. Max and I need some food." I say evenly. Isaiah smirks.

"I'm sure one of my human companions can offer up a vein," he says to me and then turns to Max, "Unless you want to actually drain someone?" Isaiah asks with amusement. Max shakes his head. He's learned that he doesn't need to kill to feed.

Isaiah finds a willing human, her name is Lana and she rides in the car with us. On the way home I feed from her first, and then Max does. Max's eyes brighten a little after feeding and even I can say that I'm feel better too.

Now that this is all over I just have to hope someone finds them and gets the message.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4.**

I'm in the kitchen getting a drink when there's a knock at the door. Max stands up and immediately goes to investigate. It been two days since we killed the badicas and there's still no news.

"Its Isaiah and Elena" Max tells me. I nod to him and he opens the door. Isaiah struts in and Elena follows closely behind him.

"Nice place you have here, you should really take my offer of staying with me though, such a waste of money here." Isaiah says as he surveys my room. Once the Badicas attack was over, Isaiah's henchmen delivered us to our hotel and then Isaiah offered us a room in his 'very large' home, as he calls it. I politely declined, I don't need his influence over Max. Or me for that matter.

"Get to the point Isaiah, you're not here for idle chit chat." I cross my arms over my chest. He has a tendency do talk rubbish before he gets to his point. It really gets on my nerves. As does his consistency with wearing red shirts.

"We have some news." He says, knowledge dancing in his eyes. I wait for the rest of it. But Isaiah just stands there.

"Well get to the point." I say with gritted teeth. My moods have been quiet bad lately. I have had hallucinations anymore either, which I think was completely stupid anyway, it was probably a vision.

Isaiah pauses for a moment before he continues. "A guardian and a novice supposedly found them. A squad of guardians turned up soon after. Apparently everyone is pretty shaken." He tell me with a smirk.

"That doesn't mean it worked. I need the message to get to the royal guards. Anyone who is involved with my family. They need to know this is my doing and I want that damn book back." Without even realising it, I've started pacing. I come to a stand near Maxs chair and sit down.

"We need to do something bigger. Something with a little more, kick, if you will." I wave at Isaiah, he comes up with the actual plans.

"Give me a day, ill figure out something." Isaiah declares. With that statement, he turns on his heel and walks out with Elena in tow.

The sun is about an hour away which means the nocturnal day is drawing to an end. I really need sleep. Max is sitting back in his chair, looking occupied with his own mind. He really hasn't said much lately.

Warmth spreads around my ankles and up my legs. My legs hurt from running, I can't find my way out of this house. I feel the heat spread around the house, flames stretching up the walls, through doorways. I can't get out. A sudden burning sensation envelopes me feet and I tumble over in pain. I can feel my feet burning, my skin melting. Its excruciating and I can't make it stop. I scream and scream and I can't move. The heat gets thicker, I'm struggling to breath and I can't scream anymore. Smoke surrounding me and my visions dims.

And then I wake up. Coughing and spluttering in my blanket and I try to recover from my nightmare. Max sits opposite me, looking concerned.  
"Hey, you're okay, it was only a nightmare." He says with complete certainty but he look tired. He always look tired.

I try to regain my composure and settle my breathing. It was just a nightmare. It wasn't real.

"What time is it?" I ask Max.

"2pm. Still have a while before it gets dark. You can go back to sleep." He says, looking at me sincerely.

I lean back against the bed head. No, I think I'll stay awake. I don't need to relive that nightmare. I'm still reeling from my nightmare but I notice max staring intently at me.

"What? It's not like you haven't had a nightmare before."

Max still stares but he doesn't say anything, he looks down at his feet.

I get up out of my bed and go to get a drink. Now I have to pass time until Isaiah's update later tonight. I stare at myself in the bathroom mirror. My eyes look worn and weary, like I'm much, much older than I am. Well having a weird sort of witchy magic and new last name and having your family killed does that to you. I sigh and walk back out to my room.

Before I can take anything else in, I notice a bowl of water sitting on the floor, max stands next to it and gazes at me.

"What's this?" I ask. Why in the world, would he have a bowl of water on the floor?

"Well it's been a while since you tried any of your Moroi magic, or any other magic that isn't for this mission, thing, or whatever, so I thought you could do something that isn't about this trip. Something fun." He shrugs. In a moment like this he reminds me of the old Max, the Max before I turned him. I didn't realise I missed it until now. I give him a small smile.

"Well I guess that's a good idea." I walk over to the bowl and sit in front of it. I look back up to max, who sits down opposite me and gives me a small nod of encouragement. It's been a while since I've done any magic like this.

I reach out the bowl of water, my hands on both sides and my fingertips touch. I hesitate, if I really was hallucinating yesterday, doing magic again will just make it worse. I don't need to be losing my mind. I go to take my hands off the bowl but a steely resolve settles over me for some reason. I can do it. Its Moroi magic, it shouldn't do anything bad. My hands rest on the bowl again and I close my eyes and take deep breaths.

I try to bring back my knowledge of Moroi magic, what I know about it, how to do it. I try to bring my old magic to me, summoning every bit I can, trying to bring forward the little bliss it sends through every time I used to try it. But nothing happens. I concentrate for what seems like forever but nothing comes. I don't feel anything. I don't feel any sort of magic flow through me. And I start to get frustrated. I'm Moroi I should be able to do this with ease. My temper flares, anger rushes through me before I have a chance to actually realise I'm very, very angry. I feel like I've lost that part of myself. Like I've lost my old life. Well, so be it then. I have no right to Moroi magic. I have my own. Something better, something stronger. I have something they are afraid of.

I feel heat rushing to my hands, my eyes fly open, thinking I'm in the nightmare again but I'm not. It's just the bowl. I've boiled the water. So instead of using Moroi magic, I've managed to make myself angrier and heat up the bowl. I let the bowl go and the water settles.

I look to Max and he just shrugs. Before I can say anything there's a knock on the door.

I glance to Max and he shakes his head. It can't be Isaiah yet, it's not even dark. Max stands and quietly walks to the door. He stands still for a moment before he looks into the peep hole. When he does, he freezes. Max stands rigid and when he looks back to me, his face is laced with seems like surprise and confusion.

"Its…um…its…ahh" He stutters out. I walk over to the door and look to see who it is. I'm completely stunned when I see my parent's faces.

"Oh my god." I whisper and then I open the door. My parents stand before me, looking me up and down, seeing if I'm ok, I'm still trying to process the fact that they are actually alive.

"Vienna, oh my god, thank god we found you." My parents enter and hug me tightly. Well this is unexpected.

"How did you get out? How did you find me?" I whisper to them. I don't think they realise how grateful I am to see them. I have some of my family. It makes me think of Danahi. My Mum goes to answer but stops when she sees who else is beside the door. Both my mother and father freeze in fear. "No, no its okay, he won't hurt you, he can't do anything." My Mum looks at me confused, my dad kind of just looks at me and doesn't say anything.

"Didn't think it would be long before you done something like that." He says evenly and enters the rest of my room.

"Wait, what, excuse me? What do you mean?" I tell him. Why would he think that? How does he know I did it? What's going on? Confusion runs through my head.

"Well when I heard what happened, I thought you'd do something like that. Kind of a tradition in this family." He says deadpan, staring at the paintings in my room. Mum looks like she has gained some of her composure and surveys the room with Dad. It takes me a few moments to realise he knows.

"You know." I tell him. He turns to me again.

"What do you mean?" He asks, but acknowledgment dances in his eyes.

"You know who we are, you know about the magic." I say, narrowing my eyes at him.

Without saying anything, he reaches up to the top his shirt near his shoulder and pulls it back, revealing a scar in the shape of an E.

"Of course I know. So does your mother." He nods to my mum.

"Why didn't you tell me? You left me to think I was alone in this! I had no help! I had no one!" I decide not to mention Danahi. "How did you even get out of court?"

"I have contacts in court that heard about a 'situation' a St Vladimir's. I looked into a bit and found something about a book, a girl, and some weird magic. As well as files from previous years with the name Nesahla on it. Being part of that family, I assumed this was you, I told you mother and we left as soon as we could."

"You didn't answer my other questions." I state. My teeth are gritted in frustration.

My father doesn't say anything, instead the turns to Max.

"Not bad, it's been a while since I've seen this happen. So how's the connection between you two?" he asks evenly. Maxs eyes widen slightly.

"What do you mean 'connection'?"

"Well when someone like us makes a strigoi, a part of us remains connected to them. Sort of like a bond with Spirit Users and the Shadow kissed. He can feel what you feel, see what you do sometimes, some of your humanity flows to him." Dad says as we walks around max, looking him up and down like a science project. I read about the Shadow kissed. Someone brought back from the dead by a spirit user, which aren't common anymore, and they have a bond, it allows them in their mind, in simple terms. I don't know how that applies to me and Max.

"What does that have to do with me and Max?"

"You potentially killed him, and brought him back, so you two have a bond really, not exactly the same, different qualities I guess. Didn't you know?"

I look to Max, who stands still. Past moments come rushing back to me, when he knew my magic was taking a toll, when I felt like I was going to pass out, the hallucinations and has been tired when I have, hungry when I have, and he seems to have abit more emotion then strigoi do. Max averts his eyes, like he's ashamed.

"Max and I have a bond?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5.**

It's one of those moments where everyone freezes and tries not to make eye contact with one another, then you wait for someone else to break the silence. Though I can't seem to take my eyes off Max, I find myself searching for some sort of sign that he is bonded to me, some sign that he has access to my mind. Though I guess the signs were there before, I just didn't take any notice. Why would I?

"Did you know?" I'm still staring at max. "Do you know about this?" I stare at him incredulously.

"Well…y-yes and no, I guess, I mean, I didn't think anything of it, I-I just thought this was how s-strigoi worked, but I thought something was different, I j-just didn't think it was this." Max stammers out. He's clearly at a loss here too.

"But you could feel what I did! How was that not right to you! You knew things, like when my magic was wearing me out, you seen my hallucinations! How could you not know!" my voice is starting to rise and I can feel anger starting to boil.

"You have hallucinations?" my father interrupts but I don't have time to answer.

"Ve, you're getting angry, you need to calm down" Max starts backing away from me, like I'm a volcano about to explode.

"So you can feel it." I grit my teeth emphasizing the 'can'. I walk slowly towards him and find he's still backing up. I hardly take notice of my parents in the background, watching how this is unfolding. "You can feel what I do, and you never thought to tell me, not even mention it. How is that not odd to you huh? You knew what was going on, and you didn't say a thing." My hands are balled into fists and I can feel more of my temper flaring. Max is still backing up, his back about to hit the wall when my father steps in front of me.

"Vienna, stop. You're getting angry for no reason, Max is just as clueless as you are, and you can't blame him." He says calmly. He stares me down for a time and I finally step back, trying to diffuse my anger. "Tell me about the hallucinations" he says, still looking at me as if I'm a rabid dog about to pounce. He grabs my shoulders and slowly walks me over to the chair next to the TV.

"I don't know, I don't know what they are or why they are happening" I start, "It's only been once, but it felt real. Like I was there, or she was here, or something."

"Tell me what happened, who is she?" he says, kneeling in front of me. My Mum stands near the bed looking at me with concern, Max is still near the door but looks to me with slight knowledge. He gives me a little nod.

"A woman, Louella I think, I had visions of her a while ago." At that, my dad's jaw tightens, he knows what I'm talking about. "She just kept telling me I had to do it, that I had to get it back." I look back to my dad. "That's it, that's all that's happened."

Dad stands and goes to sit on the bed, his head in his hands.  
"I should have been there. I should have helped you. Did you tell anyone else about the visions?"

I shake my head. I wonder how much my dad knows. I wonder if he went through any of this.

"How much do you know about this?"

"Enough. I know about the visions, Louella and the book. I know about it all Vienna, I've been through it all."

"And you never thought to tell me! I thought I was alone in this! I thought I was going mad! I had no one to help me!" I avoid telling them about Danahi. "I had to do this, by myself, when you, my own parents, could have helped me." Tears sting the back of my eyes. "You left me to be alone in this." My voice is barely a whisper.

My dad comes to kneel in front of me again.

"And I'm sorry for that Ve. I really am. I didn't think it would happen to you. I thought the more I distanced myself and the family, the less chance there was of you learning all this. I didn't want to risk yours, mine and your mother's life. I'm sorry you had to be alone." He says to me. I look back to my mother.

"So you knew, you knew too and you didn't tell me." A tear escapes and runs down my face. My mother comes to my side and brushes it away. Her hand rests on my cheek.

"I'm sorry. I wish I did. I wish I could have said something. But I wanted you to be safe, and you knowing wasn't going to keep you that way. I know I should have been there and I'm sorry. We both are"

Before I can say anything there's a knock at the door. I quickly dash away any stray tears and stand up, Max is at the door first. He looks through the peep hole and freezes. It must be Isaiah. Max turns back to me and nods, as if he can hear me guessing who it is. Of course he can.

Well, this should be interesting. I nod to Max and he opens the door and Isaiah strides in.  
He stops a few steps in front of my parents, quickly covering his surprise at other people being in the room.

"What do we have here? More of your family Vienna? I can see the resemblance." He says with a smirk. My father walks to stand in front of my mother and I.

"And who are you, strigoi?"

"Oh, I see, the father I'm guessing. Yes, you have the tell-tale Nesahla face. The magic too, I'm guessing." Isaiah speaks slowly. Dads face only registers little surprise at the mention of Nesahla. I guess strigoi knowing isn't really a surprise. "I'm Isaiah."

"Isaiah? I've heard of you. You helped with my family centuries ago." Dad narrows his eyes, taking in the Strigoi opposite him.

"The one and only" Isaiah says with his trademark smirk. Honestly between Danahi first and now Isaiah, I'm really getting tired of people smirking.

"Where's Elena?" I ask, noting the absence of his slave, person, assistant, thing. Whatever you want to call it.

"Elena?" My dad asks.

"Who's Elena?" My mother voice speaks up.

"My, my, do we have the whole family? Viennas mother, I assume" Isaiah tilts his head to one side, looking my mother up and down. She steps out and comes to stand in front of me, next to dad.

"Elena's here." Max says. Isaiah turns just as Elena strolls in, a human in tow. Dads face turns from stern to incredulous.

"What the hell is this?" He says, pointing to the human.

Isaiah licks his lips. "Lunch" he says evenly. "Elena dear, please tell the human to wait outside, I need to talk to Vienna first." Elena nods and heads back out, Max's eyes follow the human as he leaves the room. I suppose I shouldn't be depriving Max of his food, but I want him here, I need some sort of Strigoi backup, no matter what Isaiah says his intentions are. Isaiah steps forward and my parents do too. I touch my father's shoulder.

"Its fine, he can't hurt me." I tell them. My parents just stare at me. "Trust me, I don't think he wants to test it." I stare down Isaiah who cocks his head to one side but doesn't say anything. My parents take step back and move to sit in the chair I was just in. "Well, talk."

Isaiah puts his hands behind his back. "There's going to be a party. Or ball, whatever you want to call it. The Drozdovs are throwing it. Lots of people, though a big space. We are going to need more strigoi to pull this one off." My parents go to speak up but I cut them off.

"Ok, when is this going to happen?" I ask. Isaiah falters a little.

"Thats the bad news, I don't know. My contacts got the location but not the time. Right now the time is underground, we don't know."

"Then how the hell are we going to prepare, or even be able to do this without a damn timeline!"

"My contacts are keeping ears to the ground. We will get that time one way or another. Trust me." I narrow my eyes at him.

"You have a week. If you don't have the time by then, well, you can guess what will happen."

"You have my word. I'll get that time."

It's now that my dad decides to speak up.

"Wait, what is going on?"

Isaiah looks at me and smirks. "Well, I'll be off, I have things to do." He turns and walks towards the door, looking at max on the way out. He leaves the door open when he leaves. Max looks back to me.

"Fine, go. Two minutes." Max nods to me and smiles a little. He rushes out the door, barely closing it when he does. My mother and father stare at me, questions hanging in the air. "Well I suppose I should explain." I sigh and sit on the bed. For the next 10 minutes I explain what happened at school, leaving out Danahi, I explain the book, the escape from school, meeting Isaiah, the Badica attack and everything in between. Max re-joins me while I'm explaining a little colour, as much as strigoi have, returning to his face.

"Ok, so as revenge on the guardians or whoever taking the book, your organising attacks on royals?" my mum asks. Dad kind of went silent when I got to the escape from school.

"I wouldn't call it revenge, more like, a message. If they are smart enough to figure it out, they will know its from me and I want that book back. But I'm not stopping until I do." I say evenly.

My mum puts her head in her hands and both she and dad stay silent, trying to process what I've just told them.

"Don't you think this is a bit overboard?" Dad asks. Max chokes on laughter. So, out of everything I've told him, about killing royals and everything in between, all he has to ask is if it's a bit overboard. I think I underestimated my parent's ability to process absurd information.

"Nope." Is all I have to say. They stare at me again and then look at one another but say nothing.

We are interrupted again when there is another knock at the door. Is it knock on Viennas door day? Max stands and opens the door. A few moments later he walks back to me with a piece of paper in hand. It's just an envelope with a 'V' neatly written on the front. Curiosity takes over and I rip open the letter. Inside is just a single piece of paper. Black ink and simple handwriting covers a minority of the page.

"_Meet me at the tunnels"_

That's all it says. My parents take it from me and read it over and over.

"Who's this from?" they ask.

"I have no idea, probably Isaiah, he's the only one that knows about the tunnels."

Half hour later Max and I, with my mum and dad in tow, all head towards the back of the big shopping centre, to where the tunnels are located. We head in through the janitors door and down a couple flights of stairs. The damp stairwells open up to a black expanse of nothing, essentially. Black pits either side of us, and writing on the wall that Isaiah had done. Letters trail down the wall, one with an x next to it.

Besides the writing the tunnels seem empty and we wait for Isaiah to appear. A few minutes later I hear footsteps coming from the left side of me. They get louder and louder and I can't help but remember how quiet Isaiah was walking down these tunnels. We hardly noticed he was there until he was right on top of us. This time is different. Heavy steps fill the space with noise and slowly a form comes into view. Thick black boots and tight black jeans. The guy is wearing a tight fitted blue shirt which makes the blackness of his hair and the ice blue of his eyes stand out. The clean cut jawline moves as the guy in front of me smirks. His hands are shoved into his pockets. It's only when I see the familiar eyes and the hair do I know who it is. And I stand frozen. It's almost like waking up. It's almost like having something back that belonged to me. To my family.

"Danahi?" my voice comes out as a whisper, and the man smirks again. He spreads his arms out wide. Without thinking of realising that I have another people with me, I rush over to Danahi and hug him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6.**

I don't know how long I hug him for but eventually it registers that other people are here with me. At the same time Danahi realises it too.

"Who's this?" he asks. Just then my parents stand up with max beside them. The moment that they stand up and their faces fully come into shape, Danahi freezes.

"Danahi?" my father asks. He stares at Danahi with complete wonder, like he's looking at a unicorn or something. "Is that really you?"

"Wait, what? You know Danahi?" I turn to my father, "You know my dad?" I turn back to Danahi.

Danahi still hasn't spoken and he swallows.

"Oh my god, I haven't seen you in years." My father says. What in the world is going on? My mother looks as dumbfounded as I do.

"Your, um, dad, father, he, uh" Danahi stammers.

"I found Danahi years ago. His parents had just died and I moved him to a new place, to a new family. I haven't seen you since" my dad's voice is filled with wonder. Danahi's face goes white but to my complete surprise he strides over to my father and embraces him. Well, how about that for a development.

"Wait, isn't this Dave?" Max asks. Whoops. Forgot to tell him about that one. Danahi and my dad stop hugging and his face returns to his usual sarcastic self.

"Oh right, I forgot to tell you. His name is Danahi and he's my cousin." I say to Max, deadpan. Max stares back at me stupidly while Danahi walks over to him and circles.

"Wow, Ve, you certainly did a number on him didn't you. Nice job though." He says and them pauses for a moment. "Wait, how did you do this? The spell was in the book and you don't have it?" he questions me.

"Photographic memory I guess. I changed him after I ran from school, I needed a bit of backup I suppose." I register then that he knows I don't have the book. "How did you know I don't have the book?

"'Cause I do." He says evenly.

"How did you get the book? I thought you died!" I almost yell at him.

"Well, when I was in your room I found the book, had a bit of a lookey and by that time I had figured out the guardians knew about you and the book. I didn't think I had enough time to wait for you so I wrote a note and I thought about leaving the book but I remembered that you had unsealed it. Which meant if the guardians got their hands on it they would have complete access to everything. So I looked through it and found the spell that was used to seal it in the first place and re done it, I guess. I sealed it and left, hoping you would be there before the guardians took it but if you weren't, I had to take precautions. And I ran."

"And you never thought to come find me?"

"I didn't have time Ve, I had to get out. You of all people should understand that." He looked at me sincerely. I did. I couldn't hold that against him, I would have ran too.

"Well, I'm glad your back." I hesitate for a moment. "I missed you." I smile at Danahi and he just smirks back.

I turn to look at my parents. Dad just looks like he was listening to the conversation, mum looks confused and Max just looks like he's in another world. _'Having fun in my mind?' _I think and I can't help but smile. My mood seems to have lifted a bit since Danahi came back. Maxs head whips around and he looked at me and I smirk at him. _'Calm down I'm not going mad at you. Yet.'_ At that max smiles back at me.

Before I have a chance to say anything else, my vision changes. It dims and blurs and coloured spots dance around me. I only hear a whisper of Max saying my name but I can't focus on anyone. Someone else is here.

Louella stands in front of me, staring, with a white robe surrounding her but it's not all white. Burn and singe marks cover half of the arms and chest, blooding spilling out of open wounds covering her hands. She looks desperately to me. Vaguely I'm aware of someone touching and pulling me, but I can't move. Louella takes steps in front of me and holds out her hand.

"You have to do it," her voice is barely a whisper, almost inaudible, "You're the only one that can help us"

I try to reply but nothing comes out. Her eyes bore into me and the rest of the world around us pitches and rolls. I suddenly feel very, very tired and sad. Really sad. I don't know why. I should be happy. Someone is back. Who is back? I can't remember. All I know is Louella is standing in front of me.

"You have to help us." Her voice is still faint and another person comes into view. A child, an infant walks up beside her. She has dark, almost black hair that sits just below her shoulders. She wears a white robe, but unlike Louella she is completely unharmed, uninjured. Her bright green eyes sparkle with knowledge.

"I don't know how to help you" I manage to whisper out. Sadness still envelops me and it's almost hard to breathe. Shouldn't there be other people with me? Someone else was here before.

"You have to get it back." Louella and the girl say in unison and before I have time to process it, a searing pain rushes through me. I burning sensation swirls up my arms and through my chest. My legs give out and I crumple to the ground, screaming in pain. I can feel someone touching me, trying to get me to stand up but I can't process anything. All I know is this pain.  
A sharp stab in my chest takes me by surprise and I scream again. My arms and legs are searing in pain, it feels like the skin is being ripped off. I scream and scream again, clutching my chest, trying to make the pain stop.

All at once, everything stops. The pain, my blurry vision. Everything goes away. I stop screaming but I don't have the energy to do anything else. My breathing is harsh and my head swims with black spots. I'm going to pass out. I can hear whispers around me.

"What was that?" a person asks.

"The visions." A man's voice comes through. Who are these people? He's says something I can't make out but then his voice rises. "She showed her what it was like when she died. She gave her the pain. We have to get her back to the hotel." Then someone picks me up, cradling me as my mind sways with unconsciousness. I'm completely exhausted so I can't protest.

Light spills through my room and invades the darkness of sleep I was enjoying.

"I don't know, I can't really remember. I know there was a woman and she was talking and then a girl showed up and then pain. That's it. I can't remember anything else." People are talking around me, waking me from my sleep. Maxs exasperated voice comes through and there's a grumble of replies.

My eyes flutter open and I can see me mothers form sitting beside me.  
"What are you guys talking about?" I whisper. Mum quickly turns to me and hugs me. The others coming towards me as well.

"Oh Ve, are you okay? You had me worried." Mum whispers, I can tell she's on the verge of crying.

"I'm fine mum," I tell her. I sit up and register Danahi and Dad sitting on the end of the bed at my feet and max standing across from the bed, looking at me with concern. "What happened?" I can hardly remember anything, my mind still hazy with sleep.

"You passed out. We don't know what happened but you froze and then started screaming and then we brought you back here." Mum presses a cold washer to my forehead and it wakes me up a bit more. Slowly the memories come back. Danahi, the hallucination, the pain. I feel panic rise up in me for no apparent reason. I can still feel remnants of the pain left over, leaving my chest aching and my arms sore. Before I can do anything Max rushes to my side.

"Hey, hey you're okay, it's gone. It's over. You don't need to worry about it anymore." I remember that Max would have seen it all too, would have gone through it all. I shake my head at him.

"It's only going to get worse. It won't stop. I can't make it stop." I ramble on and Max hugs me in an attempt to comfort me.

"I think you need some more sleep." He tells me, looking at me with complete knowledge of what I'm feeling. I'm still exhausted and I can tell my mind would rather go back to the black pit of unconsciousness where I don't have to worry about a thing. Max gives me a small smile. Maybe having a connection with Max might not be as bad as I think. But I can't sleep. I have things to do, I need to plan for another attack, and I need to talk to Danahi.

"Hey, I can do all that" Max starts, "I can sort it all out and I'll tell you everything once you've got a bit more rest, you're not going to be any use to any plan or conversation if your slurring your words and falling asleep." He looks at me sincerely.

"Max is right," Danahi says, "You need sleep, I can fill him in on the book and everything in between and he can tell me what else has been happening." Mum and dad both nod in unison, clearly agreeing with Max and Danahi.

I sink down under the covers and my mind is already drifting, though with the slight consciousness I have left, I can barely make out the slight conversation.

"I don't know, something isn't right" I hear someone say, I can't tell who it is.

"It was different this time, it hurt her and not in a physical way, like it's taking its toll on her mind." Someone else replies. I can feel the black pit of sleep pulling me under, but I'm curious.

"She forgot everyone…" the rest of the sentence slips past me. Everyone is barely a whisper now. There's more conversation and I hear an intake of breaths which pikes my interest and I try one last time to hear anything.

"Her mind is deteriorating. The magic is essentially killing her."

And then everything is black.


End file.
